Countries in Latam your role covers: Argentina, Chila, Peru, Mexico, Panamá, Costa Rica

What are the most significant cases or transactions in the Latam region that you or your legal team has recently been involved in?

Currently, I am finalising two international arbitrations. The disputed amounts in one of them are above €200m and the other above €300m. In parallel, we are negotiating EPC contracts in three different countries for a total of five projects.

The unusual business environment created by the pandemic has been swiftly followed by the Ukraine crisis, attendant supply chain costs rising and inflation. Are you now putting more emphasis on preparing for the unforeseen, and if so, what does this entail?

We have complementary approaches for addressing these unexpected events. First is contract drafting. We are catching up on everything out of our control to clarify how this should be managed in the main contract. We also consider that any obligation or risk taken in the main agreement may be mitigated or passed on to our supply chain. Number two is contract management. We have significantly altered our approach to this function, implementing a proactive approach that forces the project team to report internally and quantify any potential impacts in real-time. The intertwining of contract management and legal oversight is extreme, giving functional independence from project management and foresight. Finally, we have a prototype to implement the use of technology in favour of the legal and contractual management strategy.

What are your organisation’s plans in the Latam region over the next 12 months, and how will your legal expertise help to achieve these plans?

Latam is a strategic region for my company. There are several reasons why. We believe we have the required operational experience, services, and products in this region. We have access to financial services that are typically necessary for significant investments. We have no language barriers. We are used to working there and treating with the particularities of different countries. For all these reasons, we anticipate a significant increase in our backlog over the coming years.